Fishing Infrastructures and innovation
Fishing in the Komma and Schinias fish farms is carried out using traditional fishing gear. The cooperative has under its responsibility 5,600m of fish barriers out of the 20,000m constructed by the cooperatives of the Central lagoon of Messolonghi on the front of the Patraikos Gulf.
The cooperative has developed collaborations with scientific and private bodies with the main program "Construction and management of new selective fish traps in the lagoons for the escape of undersized fish in the coastal zone" with the University of Patras in scientific charge. The application of these innovative provisions has been characterized by the European Commission for Fisheries as Best Practice and today their use is foreseen in the lease contracts throughout the Messolonghi-Aitoliko lagoon complex.
The temporal distribution of the catch is determined by the migratory patterns applicable to the different species. Due to the function of the lagoons as a nursery, a significant part of the catch consists of individuals smaller than the Minimum Allowable Size. To deal with this problem, since 2011, the cooperative has been using escape hatches in the 36 fish-catching facilities of the Komma and Schinias fish farms in the part of the front towards the sea, in order to achieve the automatic escape of undersized catches.